Hot beverages, such as coffee or tea, are consumed by people on a daily basis. Many people frequently visit convenience stores or specialty coffee shops in order to obtain their favorite hot beverage. Disposable cups are typically provided by these retailers for the use of their patrons for conveniently holding the liquids. The disposable cups are typically poorly insulated and, when disposed of, add significantly to the solid waste stream that must be disposed in landfills.
Many consumers provide their own reusable containers for hot or cold beverages. After the beverages are consumed, many hot drink containers are either left in the car or carried into the workplace or the home where they are then stored and reused in those locations. Over a period of time, a large number of hot drink containers tend to accumulate in the car, the home, or the office.
One problem that arises with reusable containers is the resulting accumulation of a large number of containers which typically requires a large amount of space during storage. Many typical insulated cups or containers are of quite a large size and require a significant amount of shelf space during storage. The typical homeowner frequently finds that they do not have enough space for storing the many insulated drink containers that they have accumulated. Although collapsible containers have been proposed in the prior art, many are for dry food storage items such as powders and others do not include the ability to thermally insulate the materials held within.
Thus, what is needed is an insulated cup that can be reduced in size for storage in order to consume less shelf space during storage. The insulated cup should also be of low cost and reusable, which would make it an acceptable substitute for disposable cups and thereby reduce the amount of solid waste that must be disposed in landfills. What is also needed is a drink container that will securely hold a liquid therein, that is thermally insulated to keep hot beverages hot and cold beverages cold while in use, and that can be reduced significantly in size in order to conserve shelf space when not in use.